The Monster Within

The air blows around me, just begging me to shiver in reply, nipping my ears and making my eyes water. What a cold, cold morning that I’m plagued with. But I don’t mind much. I’ve been plagued by worse things than a frigid body.

Monster. That’s what they call me—’monster’. They’re not saying it to be rude, though I’d prefer that to be the case. My entire life, people have been running away from me because they’re scared that I might hurt them. And I might.

I’m not the same as other kids. I’m not your typical teenager with typical problems. What makes me different?

Well, for starters, no teenager can turn into a wolf.

There, I said it. That’s what makes me different. Whenever I let my guard down, or let me anger get the best of me, that’s when he takes control—The Wolf.

I mean, I always wanted to be a superhero, like the ones I’ve read in comic books, but I didn’t know that being the Hulk would be like this. I didn’t expect that when I became a young man that I would find out what it’s like to share a body with a psychopath.

I once read a book about a man named Dr. Jekyll, a man who concocts a potion that gives him an alternate personality, one the opposite of his character, Mr. Hyde. I don’t know if I’d ever relate to a fictional character before in all my life. Dr. Jekyll and I are so much alike, cursed with a monster within us.

I wasn’t always alone, though. Once upon a time, I had a family, and I was happy. But everything changed when I woke up one morning to find a voice in my head, someone who snarled at me with fangs. He longed for blood like it was life, and demanded that I let it feed. When I refused, it roared. I found myself losing control of my body. I began to grow hair all over, and my teeth became fangs, and my fingernails became claws. And then I was no longer myself. I was a monster.

I don’t have a family anymore. Take a wild guess what happened to them.

The people on the street call me ‘The Werewolf’ or ‘The Wolf’, because that’s what I become. But that’s not the name I want for myself. I’m not the animal; that’s him.

No, I’m not the Wolf.

Call me Grim.